Weekly Menu #3

This is my menu:
Day 1:
Roasted Chicken
Red Potatoes
Salad
Homemade Bread

Day 2:
Crockpot Thai Curry
Rice

Day 3:
Pat’s Steak
Grilled Corn
Tomato and Avocado Salad

Day 4:
Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

Day 5 (bonus recipe – almost free)
Chicken Soup from roasted chicken – day 1
Bread from leftover bread dough from day 1



Day 1:
Roasted Chicken
Red Potatoes
Salad (your choice)
Homemade Bread

Bread (5 minutes per day recipe) – start this in the morning or the day before
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
3-5 lb Fryer
½ onion cut in 3-4 pieces
3 cloves garlic
Seasoned salt
5 baby carrots
Celery pieces

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray small roasting pan with non-stick spray. Place onion and garlic (and carrots) in chicken cavity. Generously sprinkled seasoned salt all over chicken. Place in roaster, tightly cover with lid or seal with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Do not discard vegetables (to be used in soup)

Red Potatoes

Ingredients:
5-10 red potatoes
2 garlic cloves
Salt
Parmesan Cheese (opt)
Butter

Instructions:
Cut potatoes into quarters, place in pot with garlic. Cover with water (salt the water) and boil until fork tender. Drain and either serve with butter or mash slightly with butter and parmesan cheese.


Day 2:
Crockpot Thai Curry
Rice

Crockpot Thai Curry
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-thai-curry-recipe.html
- 1 13.5-oz can coconut milk
- 1 T brown sugar
- 1 T soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free, and so is Tamari wheat-free)
- 1 T Thai red or green chili paste, or more to taste (I used red, and went with 1.5 T)
- 1 t fish sauce (optional.)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1/2 large eggplant
- 1 sweet potato
- 1-inch knob of ginger, peeled and grated
- chicken thighs (I used 5 frozen boneless, skinless)


The Directions.

Combine the sauce ingredients: coconut milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, and fish sauce in the bottom of your crockpot stoneware. Taste. If you think you need more chili paste, add some, carefully. It's hot stuff!

Add the chicken pieces to the sauce, flipping them over a few times so they get nice and saucy.

Wash and cut the vegetables, and add to the crock.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. This is done when the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables have reached desired tenderness.

I cooked ours on high for 5 hours. The vegetables were soft, but not squishy, and the chicken was cooked, but still had shape.

Serve over white rice.





Day 3:
Pat’s Steak
Grilled Corn
Tomato and Avocado Salad

Pat’s Steak
Steak (we prefer Chuck Eye or Tenderloin)
Salt & Pepper (seasoned salt or pepper is good too)
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
Minced Garlic
Fresh herbs, finely chopped (we use rosemary, oregano, and basil)

Instructions:
Rub steaks with salt. Pour a couple Tbsp of vegetable oil on a plate with ½ of your chopped herbs, salt, pepper and garlic. Put each side of steak in the oil mixture and place on hot grill. Grill on each side for 3 minutes. Turn grill down to medium and cook 1-2 minutes more per side. Continue turning every 1-2 minutes until steak is slightly less done than you want (it will continue to cook after it comes off the grill.

While steak is cooking, on a clean plate, put a couple Tbsp of olive oil with rest of herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Dredge each side of cooked steak in this mixture, then top with herbs that don’t stick to the steak.

Grilled Corn
Remove husk from corn and place on grill with steak. Turning frequently, cook for about 5 minutes. (we used to leave the husk on, but found it was less messy and just as tasty to cook it without the husk)

Tomato, Pear & Avocado Salad
2 Tomatoes
1 Avocado
2 T minced onion
1 ripe pear
Salad Dressing (something sweet like 1000 Island, honey mustard…..)

Chop tomatoes, avocado and pear in ½ in pieces. Combine with minced onion and your favorite salad dressing. For this salad, I use 1,000 Island.



Day 4:
Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

HOISIN CHICKEN (or your choice of protein) IN LETTUCE LEAVES

HOISIN CHICKEN IN LETTUCE LEAVES Recipe at Epicurious.com:

You can make this superfresh-tasting version of the Chinese takeout classic yourself.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 scallions, chopped (1/4 cup)
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb total), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (8-oz) can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup bottled hoisin sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee, House of Tsang, or Koon Chun brand)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1/2 cup pine nuts (2 1/2 oz)
12 large red- or green-leaf lettuce leaves

Heat a wok or a 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until just smoking, then add oil. Add ginger, salt, and 2 tablespoons scallions and stir-fry until ginger is fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add water chestnuts, hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and pine nuts and stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons scallions.

Have guests serve themselves by spooning chicken mixture into lettuce leaves and wrapping leaves around filling to enclose."


Day 5 (bonus recipe)
Chicken Soup from roasted chicken – day 1
Bread from leftover bread dough from day 1

Chicken Soup
Leftover chicken carcass, drippings (except fat) and veggies
1 can diced tomatoes
2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
Egg noodles, rice or can of white beans
Salt & white pepper
1 tsp dried basil

Place chicken carcass with drippings and veggies (you can add more raw onion, carrots or celery at this point) in large pot, cover with water, add 2-3 bouillon cubes. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 – 2 hours. Do not drain. Remove bones and other weird chicken parts. (You can add extra cooked breast meat if you want – I don’t). Chop up veggies into bite size pieces. Taste – add salt, pepper or dried herbs to taste. Add canned tomatoes and egg noodles, rice and/or beans. Cook until noodles and/or rice is cooked.

At the same time, take bread dough from refrigerator and raise and bake according to instructions.